| Latest news: | AGM results | Coming events | Chuck McKenzie talk |
An AGM was held on Wednesday 24th March and a new council was elected.
The people section has been updated to reflect the results
of the election.
Coming events
Big things are planned for the rest of the year, with many activities starting up and
lots of events happening.
In particular, there will be a
on the 22nd April.
The 4th issue of Fligth is being worked on this very minute
and will be available soon.
Chuck McKenzie's talk at Dandenong Library on the 10th March
This talk was organised by the Dandenong Science Fiction Society, in association with the Monash FOME (Fellowship Of Middle Earth) and Fiction Writers clubs. Yours truly was the one single Fiction Writer to turn up, and as a result, had to give the thank-you speech (The FOME representative had the arduous task of parting with the wine).
Chuck McKenzie has variously worked as a performing waiter, commercial artist, telemarketer, entertainment consultant, restaurant manager, professional actor and club DJ. He has had articles published in the music press, but never managed to get a short story published yet, despite sending stories to every publisher he could get his hands on. A fan of science fiction, he tried writing a science fiction comedy, the result of which is his novel, World's Apart, which is being independently published.
His tale is one of persistence against rejection after rejection. After being at it on and off for over ten years, it is only now he has managed to achieve some success. In an eloquent speech, he detailed the travails he encountered in becoming a published author - finding a publisher, the rewrites, the marketing. It was a great insight into the difficulties in getting published if you're an unknown author. Although he now has a distributer, initially he had to handle the marketing himself. This required sending letters to every bookstore, science fiction club and associations. Most did not reply, but the important thing was that even if they did not, the name of the book might have stuck in their minds.
Chuck is marketing the book as the "Australian Red Dwarf", which I think is a pity, as it stands on its own as being a completely distinct story. This shows how much of an influence marketing pressures can bear in trying to sell a novel. There is little similarity between the two stories. There are many interesting Australian references within World's Apart, like the "Boy from Brunswick", and although there isn't a great deal of original ideas within it, the comic perspective does give it a fresh face. My only major gripe with it is that the ending leaves you hanging.
- Verity
We're currently a club of Monash University in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. We do anything and everything associated with fiction writing.
No! We have members of all abilities. Our aim is to help improve the writing of anyone who joins. If you're just starting out, it's helpful to be talking to people who've written a lot of material.
We publish our own magazine, Fligth, where first time writers can get published. We are also building up contacts with people in the industry and can give you information on who to approach to become commercially published. Several of our members have had material commercially published.
Any sort of fiction can be covered by Fiction Writers. Here's a list of
genres that we've compiled - please feel free to suggest anything that
we've left out if you're interested in a particular genre.
Although a number of our members tend to be interested in the short story form, we have a few members working on novels, and some interested in screenplays and poetry. We are especially interested in having people working on the latter two forms of fiction.
Most definitely not!
Yes we do. Social functions we have include pizza nights and BBQs.
Actually, we want more arts students. You may find this hard to believe, but when the club was initially formed, all the members were science, computing or engineering students. We currently have a range of members from all courses, including arts, law, science and engineering.
Come along to one of our meetings, or even several. You don't need to join immediately to come to our events. If you like what you see, then you can become a member.
There are a number of ways we can be contacted. If you have any queries whatsoever, then drop us a line.
Mailbox: We have a mailbox behind the Union desk. You can leave a query letter here. Submissions for the magazine can also be deposited here.
Email: General enquiries can be sent to fiction.writers@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au. If there are mistakes in the web page, inaccuracies or links are broken, then contact the Fiction Writers webmaster. Any ideas on the organisation of the web pages, comments or feedback on the web page design is also greatly welcome.
Forum: Fiction Writers also has a newsboard forum where anyone can have a say. If you have any queries, you can post them here and someone from the club will answer the question.
Phone: If you prefer hearing a person's voice rather than the cold clack of a computer keyboard, you can try ringing the Secretary, John Tucker, on 9836-2651
Noticeboard: This is more a method for us to contact you, rather than you contact us. This is located downstairs in the Union Building, behind the pillar opposite the chemist. Coming events will be posted up here.
| Snail mail: | Monash Fiction Writers, c/o The Union (Clayton) Monash University Wellington Rd, Clayton Vic 3168 |
The Fiction Writers mailing list keeps you informed of the latest events we're organising. To subscribe to this, email the webmaster, with "Subscribe to the Fiction Writers mailing list" in the subject.
This is a Clubs and Societies page published by the Monash Fiction Writers. The ideas and information expressed on it and its child pages have not been approved or authorised by the Monash University administration either explicitly or implicitly. In no event shall Monash University be liable for any damages whatsoever resulting from any action arising in connection with the use of this information or its publication, including any action for infringement of copyright or defamation.
Copyright © 1997-1999 Monash Fiction Writers - All rights reserved
Last updated 28th March 1999 |
Maintained by Verity